Thursday, July 7, 2011

It's Thursday Night For Truck Racing

UPDATE: Sorry folks! Due to some scheduling issues I am unable to host a live truck series blog tonight. We will instead use this post for comments on Thursday's truck series coverage on SPEED. To add your opinion, click on the comments below. Comments may be moderated before posting. Thank you!

The season is grinding on and the field is pretty thin, yet the Camping World Truck Series somehow manages to put on a pretty good show. Nowhere in NASCAR is money tighter than the third-tier national touring series.

Camping World has been a good sponsor, but this week's entry list for Thursday night's race at Kentucky Speedway shows that a pretty good number of the starters may be exiting the facility long before the race is done.

There are 37 trucks on the entry list and it looks like about ten of them will be parking once the free fuel and the single set of tires is done. That's a shame, but it's a reflection of the times in which we live.

The mix of cross-over drivers just shooting for the win is lead by Kyle Busch and Elliott Sadler. Truck series points leader Johnny Sauter has rookie Cole Whitt chasing him down and only 20 points behind going into the race. Ron Hornaday, Austin Dillon and Matt Crafton round-out the top five in season points.

18 year-old rookie Johanna Long continues to persevere and Jennifer Jo Cobb makes a truck series appearance in a truck she is listed as owning. Parker Kligerman continues a good season for rookie owner Brad Keselowski as he sits in 8th place in the points.

SPEED has the gang back together again. Rick Allen has Micheal Waltrip and Phil Parsons in the booth for qualifying and race coverage. Hermie Sadler and Ray Dunlap will patrol pit road. SPEED's veteran production team should make good pictures under the lights for the race.

There are fifteen more races this season for the trucks including long trips to Las Vegas and Dallas. It should be interesting to see if some of the truck series regulars can give Busch and Sadler a run for their money on Thursday night.

On these triple-header weekends, it's always interesting to see what SPEED can do with an on-air crew of 6, no infield studio and far fewer cameras than ESPN and TNT will use on Friday and Saturday night.

Just like the scrappy truck teams, SPEED usually delivers a good show that keeps the focus on the racing and lets the cameras show the best battles on the track.

We welcome your comments on this topic. To add your opinion, just click on the comments button below. Thank you for taking the time to stop by The Daly Planet.

28 comments:

Anonymous
said...

Speed always puts on a good show with the trucks.Unfortunatly someone who should know better puts Waltrip in the booth and thats the only voice we hear for about 80 percent of the show.As usual JD you have some good points to ponder.

Hope weather holds out for all three races, including trucks! Hot, muggy week where anything can happen in the blink of an eye & defy or deny the weather doppler machines :)

re: Sparta, heard early today to AVOID interstates leading to the track unless you are GOING to the race. Fans lining up to camp out already I believe for days, not just starting today. Getting lots of air time on local news & talk radio promotions/mentions.

Will be curious to see the crowds on the tv. Really hoping OH gets some hotels from this since we are stinging so badly in the economy (including housemate lost a job 7 wks ago :-( )

They said CVG (in Ky but called Cincinnati airport) had to open up extra areas to hold all the private jets & helicopters.

I don't think we'll see a dozen or so S&P teams this race. Most of the teams have been to races before and they've all made efforts to race to the distance this season. There will be a few, but nothing like we saw in '09 when the S&P phenomenon was large in the NCWTS.

I wonder if anyone has done a survey or study to see if the Waltrips and Wallaces attract more viewers then they drive away? Of the people I know, both clans are a big turnoff and if the decision as to whether to watch or not is a close call, they tend to avoid both sets of motor mouths. I watch in spite of them rather than because of them.

Glad the trucks are gonna be back on the track and like a lot of people I was looking forward to it until MW being back in the booth was mentioned. What percentage of Speed do he and his brother own? They seem to turn so many away but like OSBORNK mentioned, has anyone done a study to see if they attract more or less?

OSBORNK, You are 100% correct and I cannot see why SPEED/ FOX ignores the obvious, that a huge percentage of fans are tired of the Waltrips and their act. I know for a fact that my friends and fans I know feel the same way.I haven't watched a truck race in a long time and raceday, trackside are unwatchable!!

YES, they are continually doing surveys. It's called a psychographic study and they are done by the same people that do the TV and radio ratings each week. The psychographic studies are VERY expensive and are shared directly with advertisers. And guess what, they are only done with ADULTS and they continually show that adult audiences rate the Waltrip family very high and the audience respond to them very well. (EXCEPT for the phrase "bogity, let's go raciin"). So all you 12 year olds out there are to have to wait until you grow up before you can sit at the "big boys table."

Anon 5:22 - I can guarantee you that I am not a 12 year old boy and have sat at the adult table for years. I have responded to some of NASCAR's surveys regarding how the various TV personalities affect my viewing habits of the races.

I'd love to participate in one of those surveys you mention.

However based on the non-scientific survey of many members of this board and their lack of enthusiam for Waltrips and Wallaces, it seems interesting to me that the Waltrips rate (according to you)high on with adults. But again, we have only YOUR statement that this is true and you are hiding behind an anon tag.

Adding input into the Waltrip debate. Michael hasn't been that bad this season. He was better than Darrell in the Sprint Open race coverage earlier this season. He has driven the COT and won a truck race this season. He is still very relevant to the sport and offers something to the broadcasts. His sponsor plugs haven't been that numerous or terrible this season.

Darrell's commentary this season displayed weakness. His current widespread presence on most SPEED NASCAR programs amplifies some fans frustrations. DW and Wally Dallenbach are in the same situation. It's been a decade since both drove full time and plenty has changed. Wally has adapted by taking a role similar to Benny Parsons. Benny would discuss driving and car characteristics to his knowledge, such as loose vs. tight. Otherwise he watched and observed and let a fresher Dallenbach explain in detail from the drivers perspective. This is the dynamic I notice Petty & Dallenbach have today.

On FOX, Waltrip lacks another driver to use as a springboard. This season, we frequently heard Waltrip's new power of reading driver's minds as his main contribution to the broadcast. FOX has the advantage with McReynolds in the booth to explain the magic of the pits and garage, but has a disadvantage when it comes to a driver's point of view.

I read a lot of opinions on this blog mixed with a lot of "creative facts" but to have me believe that the "Face of NASCAR" and Crusty are adult favorites is more than I can swallow! All that is needed to support that is look at the number of posts that are printed on this blog when the name Waltrip is mentioned.

The guy can not help himself, but that does not mean I should not have a choice as to who I want to listen to. Personally I still wish Bill Weber was around, I do not care about what he did at some hotel, there was a time he was called the hardest working media member in the garage and he certainly was not afraid to ask a hard question.

If you believe the FACE of NASCAR is the motivating force of the ratings I beg to differ. The coverage of this sport has become a very politically correct venue. From moonshiners with guns to lads with flowers in their hands, NASCAR has gone full circle.

I see where my comment didn't get added as I got an error message saying too many conflicts or something like that. Good broadcast from Speed Team and wonderful anthem too. Great racing by our fav to a top 10 finish.

The post by James at 12:44 causes me to comment. Any mention of Bill Weber on this blog normally produces strong negative reaction. I thought I was the only person who didn't mind Bill Weber, so it was a surprise to find someone else who shared my views.

I never thought much about Weber, and he never bothered me. He was just there delivering the play by play and helping explain what was going on. That's all I expect from someone in his position. If I can trust my memory, Weber didn't keep plugging a few personal favorites, and he had no obvious conflicts of interest.

Most important to me was that he had a good knowledge of the sport and rarely got lost in what was going on. That makes him far better than Marty Reid and Adam Alexander who frequently get lost and resort to a few tired themes to get them through. Whatever personal characteristics Weber displayed to annoy other viewers never were a concern to me.

Another commenter's reference to a "big boys' table" brought a laugh to me. I have read this blog for several years and comment occasionally. My strong impression has always been that the readers are heavily slanted towards older fans who have many years of following NASCAR. I have been a fan almost 50 years, and I have seen numerous posts from people who can claim more than me. The average poster may not be that old, but most seem to have a knowledge of NASCAR and its broadcasters going back far beyond the current contracts.

NASCAR, Fox, and ESPN have all demonstrated that they have no regard for fans like us. They take us for granted and assume we will stick around no matter what we are served. And if we do leave, they are not concerned because we are older than the audience demographic that advertisers value so much.

Many veteran fans find the Waltrips and Wallaces intoleable because of the obvious world of fantasy and imagination, the selective memory, and the conflicts of interest. Younger casual fans may like their enthusiasm or personality, but I can not tolerate them sitting there and lying to me.

NASCAR and the networks have made their choices. I think they are wrong. In my view, the jury is still out on who is correct; and only time will tell us who is right.

This greater Cincy Oh,Ky, IND going nuts over this CUP race addition. Special interviews with Jerry Carroll, original builder. W Bruton Smith. Sports announcers AMAZED at how fans get to the cars/drivers.

Touting this as the biggest thing besides a Super Bowl for this area!! Ha.

Anyway, very high dewpoints & scattered showers that hit the track again bit ago.

Special local radio is going to be dedicated to the Sparta races this weekened. Free over the air Sports talk Sat noon to 5pm I think on 700WLW Am, if I can mention this. Powerful station & you can listen to online streaming. Other stations carrying special reports as well.

I've NEVER seen folks so excited over a SPORTS event. Hope the NW gets in ok.

Campers got soaked last night but on tv it looks like RVs are on concrete areas. HUGE concrete. Hot in steamy weather but smart for heavy rains.

1st race here had folks stuck in the mud for hours years ago & I guess Bruton Smith wanted to make sure that didn't happen.

I've seen more snippets of Bruton this week than I have been over years of NASCAR stations.

Jerry C is being interviewed now from the track & said ran just stopped.

I just joined the Cup final practice. I lasted three minutes before hitting Mute. The combination of DW and Kyle Petty did it. If you watched the Trucks last night and the Sprint Cup cars today, you can't help but notice the washboard surface of this track. Hornaday's big wreck last night was influenced by the truck chattering over the apex of a turn. I like the driver of the #6 car, but I've seen about nine interviews with David this week. I figure that I'm about half way through.

Went to the race last night beer $8 a piece traffic was the worst I have ever been in after a race with the place only 1/3 full I dread tonight and tomorrow when the place is packed! I'm not a race rookie been to 150 plus NASCAR events! This place needs work big time.

Thenews in Cincy has been lecturing for days to be prepared to traffic going and LEAVING. It's been so bad GETTING Their they've shared different routes (?? HOw many are there) Not been listening to radio today to hear the horror stories of leaving (been at 91 yr old mom's house where basement flooded from broken washer hose)

They expect Sat night to take 3 hrs LEAVING late at night so that might be understatement.

They've hired police but I guess it was a bit FAST to get roads built before this event. Everybody seems to be STUNNED at how quickly B Smith got things done INSIDE the track. Perhaps moving this date to this year wasn't best for traffic issues. But maybe if folks can listen to the talk radio on Sat afternoon, people can share/call in w BETTER ideas on where to put exits at the place.

Sorry to hear about the traffic nightmares post race :( Stay cool & have something to listen to on the radio.

I know getting new roads added to an area can take longer than inside a track (Govnmet Red tape?)

So I better tell some local guys on Twitter to talk about this on their radio shows. Ken Broo & Bill "Seg" Dennison.